Need You Now
by isobeljones2000
Summary: Set during and after the Series 3 finale, where Nick realises that maybe there's one person that he cares about more than he had thought, and Katherine finds that sometimes she might need Nick more than she's ever going to admit. (As canon as Nick/Katherine ever gets)
1. Chapter 1

_A/N) New Year's Resolutions: Stop imagining Nick caring for an ill Katherine, stop picturing Katherine leaning on Nick's shoulder for support as they make their way into hospital, stop visualising Nick arguing with doctors to get Katherine what she wants when they won't listen to her._

 _I am very bad at resolutions._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

He had felt guilty as soon as Katherine left the room, of course.

Will needed him, Nick had argued to himself at the time. Rebecca needed him. His family needed him.

But the way Katherine had yelped as he grabbed her wrist - mangled and burnt from the explosion that he had just managed to escape - that surely proved she needed him too. Not that he had seen that at the time, of course. Why would he have done? He didn't pick up on the haunted horror in her eyes when she had recounted her experiences of the last six months which he had previously assumed she had found it simple to forget. Of course, it would never be that simple. Katherine had always been strong-minded and looked as if she cared for nothing and no-one, but maybe Nick just told himself that to stop himself having to worry about her, too. "I was in constant pain," her voice reminded him helpfully now.

The guilt was nothing compared to later on, when Michael Hoffman had just left his office, when Nick had the presence of mind and the odd sense of dread to check the CCTV from the corridor just outside. He watched the camera screen in growing horror as Katherine half-fell against the wall, staring in disbelief at her hand. That proved how much she had needed him to understand just at that very moment, when no-one else would. Maybe she would have gone so far as to actually ask him for help, for the first time of him knowing her. But he had chosen to shut her down, insisting that his son was the only thing he cared about. They both knew that wasn't quite true, of course, but maybe Katherine hadn't known that.

She breathed heavily, her eyes closed. Back pressed against the wall, as if it was the only thing holding her up. Maybe it had been. Nick stared at his co-worker and wished he had been there, had cancelled that useless phone call and gone to find her in that state.

And if Nick had been a better friend - a better person, even - he would have gone and searched for Katherine when he had seen that CCTV footage, gone and asked if she was really okay, despite the obvious answer being no.

But he just went back home to his family, like a _coward_ , burning with that same guilt all the while.

* * *

It was a struggle even to make it the short distance from where the school prom was being held to Calimov.

Urgently theorising possible solutions to the situation as they hurried along the pavement, Will, Eve and KT half-ran ahead. Katherine tried to keep up with them - in her normal healthy state she would usually have no trouble with that, despite two of the three being untiring robots - but white-hot needles of pain kept firing themselves persistently into her arm and shoulder and left her gasping for breath as she did her best to stumble along after the racing teenagers on their bid to save the world.

Only Lily hung unsurely back from her friends, having realised as they left the school building at a jog that Katherine was not as fine as she always claimed to be. "Are you all right, Dr Calvin?" she asked now, slowing to keep pace with the older woman.

Another needle arced up her arm into her torso and Katherine had to fight the strong urge to fall to her knees, to just curl up on the street and sleep. "Yes," she lied in an exhale, teeth gritted. She staggered another couple of steps as if to prove it, blinking away another wave of dizziness. She was fine. She had to be, at least for now. They all had bigger things to worry about than her health right now.

She saw Lily frown in the corner of her wavering vision, but the girl didn't push the subject. However, when - a minute later, when they were crossing the carpark of Calimov, breaking out into a run now their destination was so close - Katherine's legs buckled under her and she hissed in agony, Lily was swift to slide her arm around Katherine's uninjured side and support her as they speedwalked the last few metres to join the others impatiently waiting in the foyer.

* * *

Nick was no fool either.

As the door of his office opened and the group tumbled in haphazardly - both Will and Eve already talking at top speed filling him in on the recent events - Nick's eyes widened as Lily entered, a half conscious Katherine leaning heavily on the girl for support. The pallidity of his friend's features initially shocked him: he hadn't realised her condition was deteriorating so quickly. He asked none of the questions immediately brimming over on his tongue, but wordlessly helped Lily with Katherine, half carrying her over the seating on the far side of the office. Katherine's rapid breaths were hot against his neck as they lowered her carefully into the relative security of the sofa. Katherine moaned softly and curled up onto her side, propping herself up against the back of the chair with another pained breath. "How long has she been like this?" he asked Lily in an undertone as they joined the others crowding around his desk.

"I don't know," replied the girl apologetically. "She seemed okay before, but on the way here -"

"Uncle Nick?" Eve interrupted, and Nick forced himself to focus. Deliberately avoiding looking over at where Katherine struggled to keep her head up seemed to work best as they were catapulted head-first right back into the midst of the action. One problem at a time.

* * *

Beside him, Nick sensed Katherine visibly stiffen as they all registered Mary's entrance, her expression contorting in actual genuine fear as she barricaded both arms rod-straight against her body, ready to bolt (although in her current condition that looked unlikely at best). He understood her fear; after all, he was pretty scared of Mary himself and he hadn't survived two separate bombing attempts courtesy of the insane scientist.

And when Mary moved in Katherine's direction, talking smoothly all the time, eyes narrowing in amusement as she took in the evident vulnerability of her rival - Nick didn't register himself unconsciously moving between them until he was shielding Katherine from Mary's view as if that would do anything to prevent Mary's wrath, an EMP aimed directly at the robot's chest. Katherine didn't seem to be Mary's immediate priority, but he had little doubt that the android-Mary still sought revenge on her old enemy, the tangible terror written all over her intended target's tensed body confirming that probable intention.

Of course, he had no intention of letting that happen.

* * *

As Eve and Mary battled mentally for control of the nanovirus, the rest of the group forced to just look on in nervous anticipation, Nick felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and realised Katherine was on her feet beside him, though unable to take all of her own weight as she relies on him for support. "What are they doing?" she wondered aloud in a hoarse whisper, her cheeks pale and sunken as evidence of her illness.

"Whatever it is, Eve's losing," Will was the one to reply, dread in his voice. He obviously ached to go and help his friend, but without any nanobots any more he had no way of intervening between the robots.

Katherine exchanged a fearful glance with Nick as KT silently stepped forward, placing her hand on top of the already clasped ones and closing her eyes.

It was another half minute before Eve's eyes suddenly shot open and Nick realised a dark, writhing cloud of nanobots was making its way through the vents and disappearing into Eve's open mouth. Katherine's eyes were wide beside him as they all watched Eve take control of the virus, Mary gradually regaining awareness and staring at Eve, her look unreadable. "Silly, silly girl," was all she said.

Eve staggered back a couple of steps, Nick recognising the look she got when the robot girl was dedicating a large amount of her processing power to an issue, her head making almost imperceptible motions from side to side. "I can't destroy it," she realised in growing horror. "It's growing. The will to live is too strong."

Katherine managed to stand unaided beside Nick, looking genuinely concerned for Eve; although they have always clashed in the past, Nick believes the aloof businesswoman has come to care for the robot girl, just as he does himself. "Someone help her!" she said urgently, before her legs appeared to give out on her once again and she gently lowered herself back into the seat, Nick poised to help her as KT obediently followed her creator's instructions.

* * *

"And it's time we told everyone the truth."

There was an odd, subdued silence after Eve made her final statement. Eve was beckoning to her best friends to join her and a smiling KT, quietly suggesting the prom as an ideal location to carry out her promise. Both Will and Lily argued, of course, but Eve had obviously made up her mind some time ago and gently rebuked her friends' concern, insisting it had to be done. Nick admired his 'niece's' resolution. She knew when it was time for things to change, even if the decision was tearing her apart inside.

Michael Hoffman left first, his eyes clouded over in deep thought. It was obvious he had a lot of things to mull over in his mind, and Nick had to pity the young man. He obviously hated technology for taking his father away from him, and he had believed he was doing the right thing by seeking to destroy artificial intelligence. That assurance had obviously been put into doubt now. "I'll call you," is all he quietly offered to Nick before nodding respectfully to the rest of the group and taking his leave.

"Dad, you coming?" Will asked a moment later in the doorway as Lily and KT follow Eve from the office.

Nick glanced back at the sole person left in the room now everyone else had vacated it, and shaked his head at his son. "I'll meet you back at the school," he offered.

Will nodded, looked like he wanted to say something, apparently decided against it and left. As soon as Will had left his sight Nick moved back across the room, finally allowing himself to properly look at Katherine, who flashed him a weak smile as he approached. "Day satisfactorily saved," she remarked with a glint of pained humour in her expression.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Nick wanted to know, not wanting to be angry when Katherine was in such an obvious state, but having to ask the question nonetheless.

" _C'mon,_ Nick. I was getting some of my later nanobot supplies from your ex-wife. I intended to use your son as well. How could I tell you, of all people, what I was going though, when you have repeatedly expressed that all you care about is your family?" Katherine tried to keep her tone light, tried to hide behind the mask of her usual arrogance, but her eyes kept drifting down to the mesmerising pattern of mottled-red burns covering her hand.

Nick's gaze followed her own; he hates to think how far up her arm those burns actually go, and how when he grabbed her wrist earlier he must have accidentally hurt her. "We need to get you to hospital," he said eventually, deciding that they'd broach that particular argument later.

Katherine's eyes widened. "No!"

"Katherine, you're practically slumped on a sofa in my office. Your entire arm and goodness knows what else is covered in burns. You weren't even trying to hide your fear of Mary behind your usual exchange of witty banter to bide your time. You're ill. Therefore - I'm taking you to hospital."

"I'm fine."

Nick rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Why won't you let me help you? You don't have to be so _proud_ all the time, Katherine - you are allowed to admit weakness every once in a while. That's what friends are for. Do you really expect me to believe that you're 'fine' in the slightest?"

In response, Katherine let out another gasp as she tried to get to her feet and failed, pretty much proving her point wrong. Nick moved instinctively to catch her arm as she stumbled - unfortunately it was her injured one and Katherine just about managed to mute her scream by clamping her lips tightly together, only allowing a muffled squeak to escape instead.

"Sorry, sorry!" Nick apologised quickly, his insides swimming with guilt as Katherine flashed him a reproachful look, leaning heavily against his shoulder on her uninjured side and clutching her other hand protectively to her chest. "Can you walk?"

"Yes," Katherine replied somewhat uncertainly.

"That's a no, then," Nick conceded, adjusting his arm position so he supported Katherine more fully around her upper torso and beginning to help her move haltingly towards the door. "I'm taking you to hospital, Katherine."

* * *

 _This was originally a oneshot then turned into more like a threeshot, so... stay tuned ;)_


	2. Chapter 2

Katherine was silent and brooding during the drive across town, her head lolling back against the head rest of the passenger seat with her eyes flickering open every now and then. Nick drove as quickly as he dared, fearful that every turn and jolt of the vehicle might hurt her. If the woman felt any pain, she certainly wasn't admitting it, her lips held in a tight hard line as she suppressed any gasps that might otherwise escape, unbidden.

She was equally as subdued as Nick helped her out of the car, noticing but choosing not to mention aloud the slight tremor juddering her body as she leant unwillingly against him, staring at the floor. "You okay?" he asked quietly, the first words either of them had spoken since they left Calimov.

"I'm fairly sure I'm dying, so incredibly, no," Katherine replied irritably.

Nick locked the car door with one hand, slipped the car keys into his pocket. "Suppose I kind of asked for that," he mused with a ghost of a chuckle just passing his lips. "You're not going to die, Katherine. I can promise you that much. They have good doctors here."

"I was in a bombing and they didn't help me recover from that," she pointed out sharply as they neared the hospital lobby, the automatic doors sliding apart to allow the odd couple in: a man in a smart suit supporting most of the weight of a pale, staggering woman in similar formal clothing.

Not quite knowing what to respond to that, and conscious that tears were now pricking at the back of his eyeballs at the weakened state of his friend, who hated to rely on anyone and must have been hating that she was forced to be so dependant now, Nick turned to the receptionist behind the desk that they've just reached, who looked up at them, concern narrowing her gaze as she scanned Katherine's appearance. "Can I help you?" she asks politely.

Nick glanced at Katherine to see if she wanted to do the talking. She didn't, apparently, and avoided his gaze. "Um - this is Dr Katherine Calvin," he started hesitantly. "She was here just over a month ago, with severe burns and -"

"Yes, Dr Calvin," the receptionist interrupted. Her name tag read Libby, with a smiling picture of the young woman in question beside it. "I have her file here."

Katherine gave another muted gasp of pain beside him before haltingly taking over explanations. "I left hospital when I made you discharge me, but my condition has worsened again," she said carefully, her voice stilted and unwilling as she lifted her hand in indication.

The receptionist nodded efficiently, not batting an eyelid at the angry burns that Nick was still wincing at, and turned to her computer, speaking into her headset as she typed. "We need a stretcher in reception and a private room to be opened and readied in the Burns Unit," she ordered.

"I don't need -!" Katherine started in an odd burst of - what, desperation? Nick wondered. He shot her a look and Katherine sighed, falling quiet. "I don't need a stretcher, I can walk," she hissed sideways under her breath.

"Yeah," Nick agreed sceptically, making sure his tone relayed exactly how convinced he was by that, considering Katherine couldn't stand unaided, let alone walk.

Katherine huffed and a trace of her usual pride slipped back into her posture for a moment, which Nick was oddly grateful for. It was nice, almost, to see that Katherine hadn't been totally beaten by her illness, that he still had a chance of saving her.

Then there was urgent talking around them and Katherine was arguing as her weight was suddenly removed from Nick's shoulder, lifting his friend up onto a stretcher. "Nick!" he heard her say, and fought his way through the shoulders of crowding nurses and paramedics who were beginning to hurriedly wheel her away, ignoring the curious gazes of the public frequenting the large waiting room.

"I'm sorry, sir, you can't go with her for now," a medic told him kindly, but firmly, laying a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Dr Calvin needs urgent attention."

"I'll be here," Nick said loudly so that Katherine could hear him. "I'll be here when I'm allowed to visit."

Just as he was beginning to think that she hadn't picked up his promise out of the worried chatter of the nurses around her, he caught sight of Katherine, propped up against one end of the stretcher, looking pale but determined and looking directly into his eyes.

"Don't worry, sir," the same medic reassured him gently. "She'll be fine." Then he nodded politely to Nick and the receptionist in a curt movement before hurrying after the rapidly disappearing stretcher as it rounded a corner, taking Katherine with it.

Nick could only watch helplessly, knowing he had done all he could for now.

* * *

It was past six when Nick made his way back into the hospital foyer, still reeling with the image recently imprinted onto his mind of Eve standing there at the front of the prom, silently holding her left hand up in her right. A strange, sad expression had flickered over her android features as she took it all in: the crowds of staring teenagers all around her, phones held aloft and recording her every move. Nick understood why it had had to change, but he couldn't help but wish it didn't have to all the same.

The receptionist - a different one from earlier, probably taking the next shift - kindly informed him that Katherine wasn't allowed any visitors at current and he might be better coming back another day. "I'll wait," Nick replied quietly, and shot off a quick text to Will as he took a seat in the waiting area, informing his son of his intention. Will replied almost immediately with a short 'okay'. It was obvious his son didn't feel like talking. They could do enough of that later, when everything had died down a little.

Katherine's expression altered immediately when Nick was allowed into her room nearly a full hour later, an odd mixture of relief and exhaustion plastered over her face like a darkened veil. "I didn't think you would come, Nick," she remarked candidly.

"I said I would," Nick pointed out awkwardly. "Are you - feeling okay?"

"Not that fabulous, honestly."

Katherine was lying in a hospital bed in the centre of the small room, her face as deathly pale as the last time Nick saw her, if not more so. Her good arm was hidden under the covers, but her injured one was bandaged right up to the elbow. To his slight amusement, the sleeve of that arm had evidently been cut up to the shoulder to quickly get at the burnt area, which he was guessing even a gravely ill Katherine would have something to say about.

"Yeah." He shrugged in reply, gesturing vaguely in her direction and taking a seat in the armchair in the corner. The stuffing of the seat tried to maintain some degree of tautness under his weight, then obviously gave up the ghost, sagging uselessly. "I guessed that much."

Katherine avoided his eyes. "Did they make you wait long?" she asked the wall formally.

"A while. They only just let me in."

"God knows why. They left me alone like two hours ago."

Nick tried to smile at her, though he hated seeing her so hopeless-looking, just as much as she must hate feeling so hopeless. "Are you feeling any better than before?" he inquired.

"They gave me something for my arm," Katherine explained, somewhat indistinctly as she rested her head back against the headrest of the bed. "Honestly, everything's a bit woozy right now - whatever dosage of anaesthetic they gave me must be pretty strong. Still, for the first time in days I can't feel any pain, so that's a bonus, I guess."

"I guess," echoed Nick uncertainly.

"Did Eve confess?" Katherine wanted to know, changing the subject away from her current condition, since it was really the last thing she wanted to acknowledge right now.

Nick swallowed, and the haunted look in his eyes gave her a clue straight away. "Yes."

Katherine paused, weighed this statement on her tongue. While it was true that she had occasionally tried to get Eve to reveal her secret to the world under the promise of her protection, it was obvious that this was going to have a tumultuous change on Nick's family, and even she had grown to like - or at least tolerate - Nick's android niece, with her overemotional ways and her annoyingly steadfast loyalty.

"Don't you need to be at home? With Will?" she asked now, aware that Will would be the one that likely suffered the most from this change, and since it looked like the Clarke family would be getting a sleepless night tonight due to both Eve's inability to slumber and the speed that the Internet tended to pick up on new and unusual occurrences.

"Rebecca's at home with him," Nick replied shortly.

A sour look flashed over his friend's face at the mention of the other woman's name, quickly followed by a grimace as Katherine cautiously manoeuvred her bandaged hand into a different position lying next to her on the bed.

Nick frowned slightly. "You okay?" he repeated a second time, as if by impulse.

"Fine," Katherine replied, equally as abruptly and hating the sympathy that crept onto Nick's features, unbidden. "It's not like my injuries are even recent or anything. It's like nurses have never seen burns before. In a _Burns_ unit."

"You were in a bombing."

" _Seven months_ ago."

"And still in a hospital bed," Nick pointed out somewhat exasperatedly. Even now, Katherine was trying to hide her condition from him, when it was perfectly obvious that she was not at all okay.

"And - _and -_ look at my top!" Katherine seemed to remember herself and her vision sharpened a little as she inclined her head affrontedly in the direction of her injured arm. As Nick had noticed when he came in, the pink material of the sleeve had been cut up to the shoulder, leaving it flapping open and exposing slightly red-tinged skin above the bandage.

"That was a little unnecessary," conceded Nick.

"That _was_ unnecessary."

"There was no real need for that."

"This was one of my nicest tops, too," sulked Katherine.

Nick nodded. "It is a nice top. Was, I mean."

Katherine huffed, though secretly relieved that they could still exchange their usual bantering subtext, even in this sort of situation. It helped, somehow. Gave it some sort of semblance of normality. "They're going to make me wear one of those hospital gowns now that they've just _ruined_ my top."

"Poor you."

Katherine narrowed her eyes, and Nick widened his in mock innocence, though a tiny smile tugged at his lips. "What? That was genuine sympathy!"

"Hmm." A teasing frown, as Katherine made her voice as stern as possible while wanting only to get up, run away from this hospital bed. "Save it, Nick."

Nick shook his head and smiled in response, looking slightly more comfortable in the scratchy hospital armchair as he nestled into it further, crossing one leg over the other.

"But the hospital dress thing isn't even our biggest problem," noted Katherine with only the barest hint of sarcasm in her tone. "The nanobots may be shutting down in my system, but they're still _in_ my system. They can be detected on an x-ray scan, correct?"

"They emit a powerful enough electromagnetic pulse, so yes," Nick replied slowly.

Katherine looked worried. "Well... nanotechnology also happens to be illegal, remember?"

* * *

It was a similar time the next day that Nick made his way into the hospital lobby, deciding, since he thought he knew the way by now through the anonymous white corridors, to head straight to Katherine's room. They had spent the minutes right up until the end of visiting hours last night talking quietly, exchanging occasional banter mixed with serious statements as they mulled over what to do next. He had hated leaving her there when he was forced to admit it was getting pretty late. Naturally for Katherine, she insisted she was utterly fine, but he looked back just before he left and saw a strange expression on the usually aloof scientist's face: genuine fear. She was scared she was going to have to stay in hospital for another five months, just like last year. Nick knew that, even though she would never have admitted this aloud.

"I'm sorry, Dr Clarke, Dr Calvin isn't allowed visitors at the moment," the receptionist called over to Nick as he passed, causing him to stop in his tracks and stare blankly at the woman for a second as he caught up with the statement.

It had been an even longer day today, if that was possible. The media had inevitably latched on overnight and Eve had been heading outside at various points all day to stand in front of the flashes of cameras in front of their house with that same resolute look on her face, KT calmly smiling at her side. Nick and Will had chosen to slump into the sofa by late morning and helplessly let it go on around them, both Lily and Rebecca hovering around the house like anxious bees. He doubted the tv crews would be so kind as to relinquish their attack overnight, either, so in comparison to home right now, the hospital was a relative haven. He had already had to fight his way firmly past what seemed like a hundred photographers barking question after question at him, the Watsons giving him faintly sympathetic/distrustful expressions as he managed to make his escape in the car. He knew he probably owed the world some explanation, but Eve had promised him that she had it under control. She was lying, of course, but Nick didn't try to intervene. He pitied Will, having to just sit there through all that, while he got to get away, if only for an hour.

Back to the present for now. Nick checked his watch. "Five till seven o' clock are evening visiting hours, aren't they?" he inquired uncertainly. As if to confirm this, a tall man with big round glasses and a bright, false smile wandered past, his arm around one of the patients: an old woman whose step wavered as she walked, her shoulder pressed into the man's side for support. Definitely visiting hours, then.

"Yes, but it says here that Dr Calvin has just undergone treatment and requires rest. She isn't permitted visitors at the moment. I'm sorry."

Fear was prickly and seemed to catch in the throat. "Is she okay? Has her condition got worse again?" Nick asked, the words a rush but needing them asked all the same. His throat was oddly dry and sore, despite barely having said a word to his family all day, and having been handed about twelve scalding mugs of coffee at regular intervals by his concerned ex-wife, which he had heedlessly gulped down.

"I only know she has undergone treatment," repeated the receptionist apologetically. "I don't know whether you'll be able to see her tonight. I can send a message on for you to the doctors, if you want. To tell them you'll wait?"

"Yes, please. I'll wait," replied Nick instantly, no decision required. "Thank you."

Trying to absorb himself in a book for nearly an hour but not doing very well at it, Nick found his eyes wandering occasionally around the waiting room as he - well, waited. Friends and family seemed to sit like statues around the perimeter of the large lobby, idly flicking through health magazines or eyes closed, nodding their head to an inaudible rhythm racing through headphones. Nurses walked swiftly past, disappearing into a labyrinth of clinical corridors with a purpose that Nick wished he could share. Part of him wanted to get up, go and search for his friend, help a little of her prickly personality resurface in this soul-crushing environment. But the stronger part of him kept his body rooted to the chair, trying not to think. Trying to be patient, although it wasn't easy. Trying to hope.

"Dr Clarke?"

Nick looked up from the book - he had just read the same sentence at least four times and it hadn't gone in once - taking in a young doctor with tousled chestnut hair and a kind expression currently pursed into a slight frown. Nick couldn't read his features exactly, but he seemed fairly hopeful. "Is she okay?"

"Dr Calvin told me to tell you that she is recovering well, and says that you should go home and get some sleep," the doctor assured him.

"Okay," Nick agreed, relief seeping through him like water through a woollen jumper (a regrettably familiar sensation) as he settled back into the chair. He seemed to be doing a lot of sitting in uncomfortable chairs recently, he noticed. "Thank you," he added as an afterthought.

"She also says to make sure you don't sleep in the waiting room," the younger man informed him somewhat shyly.

Nick made no effort to get up.

"She also told me to call security if needed."

Nick smiled, despite himself. That's the Katherine he knows. "Fine," he finally conceded, glad that Katherine seemed to be alright, if she was giving him orders again. The doctor smiled shyly again and hurried off as Nick finally got out of the chair and began to lope off towards the double doors, making a note to come back in the morning before work. It would be nice to get some proper sleep, if he was being honest. If he ever got a chance to, that was. And hopefully Katherine would too.

* * *

"Are you okay?" was the first question out of Nick's mouth as the nurse politely showed him through into the private room, hurrying uncharacteristically straight to Katherine's bedside and staring down at her, looking her up and down as if to check her prone form for visible injuries.

"I think we both already know what the answer to that question will be, so drop it, Nick!" a frowning Katherine instantly shot back, though a tiny part of her felt a little warmer at the concern over her co-worker's expression. "Honestly, can't we just say hello for once?"

"Yeah. Sorry. Sorry." Nick, evidently cowed by the outburst so soon into the conversation, seemed to realise how close he was standing and took an unconscious step back. "Hello, I mean. I won't ask how you are either, cause I'm guessing that's against the Katherine law of sympathy as well."

" _Thank_ you," was the sarcastic reply. Katherine used her good hand to sweep her hair away from where it was plastered both to her forehead and face alike. Never had she wished for a shower more than that moment. Not to mention how pale she looked - who thought it was a good idea to have a full length mirror in the corner of a burns patient's room? When contrasted with the clinical white shade of the sheets she was huddled under, she looked just like any other patient, with that same resolute look of illness over every feature. Faceless. Nameless.

"It's just they wouldn't let me in last night," added Nick in a small voice. Katherine recognised his need to broach the subject and reluctantly decided to let him, though how she wished she was still his superior and could admonish him with no repercussions. Not many repercussions, anyway. "They said your condition had worsened again, and you had just had treatment so I couldn't visit. I was - worried."

That warm spot got a little hotter, something tiny glowing persistently inside. "You didn't miss much," Katherine said as airily as she could manage without wincing. The pain was coming back, but she was damned if she was going to just have earnt back a little of her boss' respect only to ruin it again. "I missed most of it, if I'm honest. Apparently it's spreading to my back and I was showing signs of trauma, so..."

Nick looked a little lost as to what to say next, seeing as he wasn't allowed to express sympathy, so Katherine took pity on him. "I'm fine," she promised. "Sorry about your wasted trip yesterday."

He chuckled faintly. "I don't know why you're apologising, Katherine. It wasn't your fault."

"You know, you don't have to come and visit me," she suddenly said. Katherine wouldn't meet his eyes, though evidence of pain was etched into her expression. "Your family need you more than me right now."

"You need me too," insisted Nick. "There doesn't seem to be much I can do back home apart from just sit tight. Same with Will. Eve's handling it pretty well."

Katherine's eyes shone bluer than he had ever seen them as she finally met his eyes. "Is it bad?" she inquired softly.

"It's not great," Nick replied bitterly. "But nothing seems all that great at the moment. Something tells me it's going to last a while, too."

"I take it back, then. Come visit all you want, if it's that bad at home." She was only half joking, but Nick's face stayed faraway and serious.

"Hopefully the media coverage will give up after a couple of days," he eventually said hopefully, but neither of them were all that sure as they fell into uneasy silence again. Nick didn't seem to believe his own assurances any more than the traditionally sceptical Katherine did at this point.

"I managed to convince them that I didn't need an x-ray," Katherine informed her friend after over half a minute spent in mulling quiet, figuring she might as well play host as best as she could.

Nick focused back on her face again. "Oh - good," he replied distractedly.

"The burns are severe, but still only classed as surface," Katherine rattled off, having had three doctors already explain that to her today, once she woke up from the sedative early this morning. "It's about the only thing I managed to convince them about, to be honest."

"They're still not listening to you?"

"What do you expect, by this point?" Katherine shrugged bitterly, all the anger seeming to have seeped out of her in one fell swoop. "Doctors appear to believe they know it all."

Nick gestured, slightly teasing. "You gave into the hospital robe thing, I see."

Katherine pulled a surprisingly realistic face detailing her exact disgust. "Again, not much of a choice." Her voice rose in pitch slightly, a mocking lilt in the words. "They tell me I'll be out before I know it, but they told me that six months ago and I'm still in a hospital bed."

"They're trying to help, Katherine."

"Yeah. So everyone keeps telling me."

Nick wasn't doing very well on the lack of sympathy front, though he was still attempting to hide it behind a noncommittal, careless tone. "I understand," he said, his sudden genuineness surprising her. "I get it, Katherine."

If anyone else had told her that right now, Katherine would have immediately launched into a tirade at them, how if _they_ had spent half a year on hospital after a catastrophic explosion then returned to find everything taken away from _them_ , then maybe then they could tell her that they understood. But seeing as it was Nick and seeing as Katherine did inexplicably believe that he _did_ understand - instead she kept unusually silent as Nick continued, staring straight into her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I get that you didn't want to be back here. But I didn't know what else to do."

"No, Nick. You were - right," Katherine admitted grudgingly. "They have helped me. It's just - there's no cure that they know of. And their so-called prescription is just keep me here in this bed, run the occasional test on my illness and apparently _wait and see_."

"'Wait and see' seems to be a popular solution at the moment," concurred Nick.

"I need to go home," blurted Katherine, her voice suddenly strong and desperate. "I don't think I can do this for much longer. But they won't listen to me."

Any attempt at hiding his concern had officially been abolished. "Katherine -" started Nick, unsure what to tell his friend; she was smart enough to know that whatever he tried to falsely assure her was a lie.

She cut him off. "Please, Nick."

* * *

The distracted scientist, walking deep in thought, nearly crashed into a nurse's arm that firmly barred his way into the small corridor leading to the private room that Katherine resided in. "You're coming to see Dr Calvin, correct?" she asked curtly.

"Yes, why?" Nick asked, that same fear bristling in the back of his mind like before.

"You weren't told at the entrance that you couldn't come in?" she asked, ignoring Nick's question completely.

"No. I was told that a couple of days ago, but no one told me today," he replied as politely as he could muster, trying to swallow down the barrage of questions and fears that swirled relentlessly on his tongue.

The nurse rolled her eyes, muttering something that didn't sound awfully complimentary towards receptionists. "You're Nick Clarke, I assume," she stated.

"Um, yes."

"And you're not family of Dr Calvin."

"No." Alarm bells rung in his head at the ominous statement, instantly realising the connotations of it. "What's wrong? Is Katherine okay?"

The nurse evidently saw his shock and her expression relaxed a little, her abrupt tone softening. "Yes, don't worry, she's fine. Technically, when she's just had treatment we're not permitted to allow anyone but close family to visit, but - you're her only visitor, so..."

"Is she okay?" Nick repeated insistently.

"Yes," the nurse replied again. "She's been saying your name, so that's why I know it, by the way."

 _My name...?_ "Can I visit her?" Nick asked almost pleadingly.

"I think it would do her good to see a friendly face," conceded the nurse. "She's fairly lucid, though she's still recovering from the anaesthetic she was given for the treatment so she's a little - out of it, let's say."

"Okay," he replied slowly, unsure what this might mean.

A flicker of a smile crossed the nurse's face before her expression sharpened and became businesslike again. "Alright, go on in," she instructed.

* * *

Unusually, Katherine was smiling as he came through her door, which only widened and brightened as she realised who it was. "Nick!" she greeted, her voice overly light.

 _Erm_. "Er - hello, Katherine," Nick replied, taken aback by her new condition. A wire trailed from a needle taped to her uninjured arm along to a machine at her side, which beeped constantly. Nick followed it along with his gaze, then down to the sheets over Katherine in the hospital bed. The sleeve of the hated hospital gown was rolled up right to her hurt shoulder, which was now bandaged almost completely right down to the wrist, concealing the angry red burns. She seemed more relaxed, somehow. Whereas normally she had been tensed and evidently uncomfortable propped up against the pillows, now she sunk into them with a dreamy half-smile on her lips. It was very odd to see.

"Hiya!" she agreed.

Nick dared to ask the fatal question, figuring that it was as good a way as any to see if she was herself. "Are you okay?" he inquired tentatively.

Katherine seemed to consider this at great length. "Yes," she finally concluded, seeming uncertain, but nodding decisively anyway.

"Er... good." Nick took the cue to sit down in his usual seat. It was even more difficult than before knowing what to say to her, while knowing that Katherine probably wouldn't remember it. He was aware enough of the effects of anaesthetic to know that, at least. "Was your treatment okay?"

"My arm hurts," Katherine was quick to tell him. This, too, was odd; she would never normally tell him what her condition was actually like, and he usually had to get any clues by now from the doctors striding around the corridors. "And my shoulder. And now my back. It burns."

Nick winced even at the description of it. So her injuries really were deteriorating quickly, as the last traces of nanobots left her system. Still, she definitely looked better for a week in hospital: her visible skin underneath the sheets was a healthier shade than before, and even a definitely drugged Katherine seemed a little more optimistic than when he had last guiltily left her alone in the hospital room, knowing full well that she hated being there.

"I asked the nurse people whether you would come today and they said that you probably wouldn't," Katherine told him almost accusingly, before her expression altered again to reveal a radiant, childlike smile. "But you did come!"

"I did," agreed Nick, unable to resist a smile at the woman's interchangeable emotions that normally she tended to keep well hidden from him as well as the rest of the world.

"You did," repeated Katherine, looking faintly confused as her head lolled to one side slightly, before she regained some balance and stared at him.

"Feel free to sleep any time you want," offered Nick. "I'm not forcing you to talk to me just because I'm here, don't worry."

Katherine gave a wide, catlike, very _un-_ Katherine-like yawn. "I _am_ sleepy..." she reasoned matter-of-factly, whining complaint in her tone.

"That'll be the anaesthetic," remarked Nick.

His co-worker smiled happily to herself. "I'm glad you're here, Nick," she mentioned, her voice drowsy and only vaguely coherent. The sedative was obviously still fairly strong in her system, so her conversation was fragmented and a bit random. Nick was mostly just glad she was a version of okay, even if not her usual snarky self. He did miss that about her, though. She may be a lot more open and trusting when she was dosed up on full painkillers, but it wasn't Katherine. Not really.

Nick only realised that she was waiting for a reply when he found her eyes seeming to demand something of him, a slight frown furrowing her features. "Um - I'm just glad you're okay," he said truthfully.

Katherine inexplicably giggled at this, actually _giggled_ , and Nick was suddenly hit by the overwhelming knowledge that in her right mind she would not want him to see her like this, she would hate him seeing her so drugged-up and out of control of her own actions. She stared, wide-eyed, at him as he found himself hastily standing up, suddenly needing to get out of there, before either of them did something they would both regret. "Anyway, I'll leave you to sleep, Katherine," he explained hurriedly.

"Don't go," she pleaded unexpectedly, her face crumpling in apparent sorrow.

Nick paused, already halfway to the door, indecision playing in his mind. For a moment, he knew he could see his friend in the woman's exhausted eyes, hating every second that she spent losing what little remained of her dignity. Katherine looked hopeful. "Stay," she begged, her eyelids heavy and lethargically blinking.

Nick moved a little closer to the bed, almost without thinking about it. Katherine held out a slightly shaking hand when he was within reach, grasping his own with cold fingers. "Stay..." she murmured quietly as she finally stopped fighting the sedative and her eyelids flickered shut.

* * *

"Nick?"

"...Whuh?" was Nick's incredibly intelligent addition to the conversation as he jolted awake, his sore neck and shoulders immediately informing him that it really wasn't ever a good idea to sleep upright propped in a thoroughly uncomfortable chair. He blinked a couple of times to get his bearings, then blinked again at Katherine, who was staring down at him from the bed, looking too tired to even be fully surprised any more.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I came to visit you - oh." Nick realised that the light streaming through the curtains was the sunrise, beams of bright light crawling their way into the darkened room. "I guess I - um - fell asleep."

"Yeah." Katherine hid a yawn behind a hand, seeming to be mulling it over herself. "But I don't remember you coming to see me last night - oh."

Nick guessed by Katherine's suddenly scandalized expression that she had just figured out what the fog over her recent memories had been influenced by. "Don't worry, you didn't do anything too -" he started.

"Oh God, no." Katherine cradled her head in her one good hand, seeming geuninely distraught. "What did I say? Tell me I didn't say anything awful."

"Nothing," Nick assured her.

"The anaesthetic must have been pretty strong," she mused. "My arm still feels numb. Seriously, what did I do? I can remember a bit, but not much."

"You rambled a little then fell asleep, and I must have fallen asleep too," Nick recalled. "I promise - that's it."

"Hmm." Katherine didn't look overly convinced, but dropped the subject nevertheless. "You should probably go let your family know that you haven't been abducted by aliens or anything," she pointed out dryly.

"I'm sure they'll figure it out," said Nick without showing any obvious signs of moving, still massaging his neck back into feeling with a grimace. "It is still visiting hours, after all. The next morning's visiting hours, yes, but it still counts."

Katherine swallowed a smile at her colleague's typically pedantic nature. "Whatever," she replied. In the same instant, she realised what had been trying to get her attention in vain in the corner of her mind for the last couple of minutes: an odd expression had come onto Nick's face. It was a familiar one, one that she was used to associating with his typical protective nature over any of his family members when in jeopardy. It was one of determination. One that told her instinctively that he had something in mind, and he was fully prepared to carry it out.

"I will soon," he replied thoughtfully. "I just have something I need to do first."

* * *

Katherine could just make out Nick's voice outside in the corridor, raised and apparently arguing with one of the doctors. She was able to pick out her name and the occasional few random words amongst his speech, but the rest was incoherent. She wished she knew what he was saying; it was unlike Nick to be so openly provocative, and the look on his face when he had left her room only a few hours earlier had cemented her suspicions, not to mention that his voice outside had woken her up from her fragmented sleep, the musty late afternoon air drifting in through the slightly open window to inform her of the time. He had a plan.

If only she could figure out what it was.

Now a doctor's voice, lower. Conceding something, maybe. Nick's reply, too quiet to make out. Was he planning on letting her know what he had been saying about her? Katherine hardly dared to hope by this point: a week in hospital had driven her right back emotionally speaking to where she had first been, six months ago. She hadn't been exaggerating when she had reluctantly confessed her feelings to Nick, she really wasn't sure she could bear this much longer.

Her eyes shot up to meet his as Nick reentered, a new expression on his face. Pride, it looked like. Satisfaction. But why? "You're coming home," he stated simply, as a form of greeting and answer all in one.

Katherine didn't realise how relieved she was to hear those simple words until she registered the unconscious smile tugging at her features, the tension relaxing her entire body like one of those too-effective sedative injections they kept insisting on giving her. "How did you convince them?" she asked in wonder, already propping herself up on her good shoulder, searching the bedside table with her eyes for anything she was likely to accidentally leave behind. She couldn't believe it. Just when she was beginning to give up, to resign herself to her hospital-bound fate... she was finally getting out of here. It wasn't straight back to normal, of course - far from it - but it was a start. She was going _home_.

A flicker of a smile. "Well, you know my CEO charm."

She chose to ignore the CEO comment, too relieved to be annoyed at Nick right now. "What, now?" she asked impatiently.

"If you like." Nick's smile was unreadable, though obviously relieved on her behalf. "Your stuff's out in a locker in the lobby. I can go get it for you."

Katherine forced herself to slow down a little, to think things through, although every cell in her body, given the sudden opportunity, was screaming at her to leave. She hadn't realised how much a vengeance she hated hospitals with until now. "But my car isn't here, though I should have my keys," she listed quickly, mostly to herself, before she turned her head to her co-worker again apologetically. "Thank you Nick - you've done so much already, but... could you give me a lift as far as Calimov so I can get my car? I'd walk, but..." she gestured to her completely bandaged arm helplessly.

"No."

 _Um._ "What?"

"No," Nick repeated. "One - you're not driving, not in your condition. No way. And two - do you really think I'm leaving you alone in your apartment when you're ill? There's a reason you're supposed to stay in hospital, you know."

Katherine frowned, somewhat bemused. "What's your point, Nick?"

"No," Nick insinuated for the third time. "That was the condition I made with the doctors. There's no way I'm just letting you fend for yourself now, just because you've been 'discharged'."

Katherine still wasn't following. "So..." she prompted, utterly confused by now.

"So -" Nick smiled suddenly, warmth in his expression that relit that tiny spark deep inside Katherine's burnt, sore and battered torso. "You're coming home - with me."

* * *

A/N) _This got super long... And I pretty much just used every Hospital AU prompt I've ever read in writing this chapter. I have a problem XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and pretty-please review for more Nick/Katherine protective cuteness!_


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